Going Inside Walt Disney World's New Fantasyland as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and More Come to Life

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Be their guest indeed...

By Eric Goldman and Trish Troesh (Photos)

Note: I realized I initially left out one of the best parts of the whole experience and have added an update to the end of this story.

While Disney prides itself on constantly evolving its theme parks with new attractions and entertainment, Fantasyland has long remained one of the more dependable locales at the various parks, as far as what you can see and do. But the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World changed things considerably on that front with the opening of New Fantasyland, a huge expansion project that adds a ton of new and notable elements..

As a long-time Disney fan, I was very curious about New Fantasyland when I attended the big opening for it last week in Orlando. And happily, I found it to be an impressive new addition to the park, consisting of some very strongly defined new areas and attractions.

Disney certainly went big with the opening, first with a media night preview event and then on opening day, which included a ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by a large opening ceremony in front of Cinderella’s castle – which included Ginnifer Goodwin (Once Upon a Time’s Snow White) and a Disney musical medley performance from American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.

But it’s what is now beyond that castle -- and, indeed, behind the entirety of the original Fantasyland, geographically speaking -- that really had fans excited. And while there is much to see and do, the highlight of New Fantasyland has to be all of the space devoted to Beauty and the Beast. The much-acclaimed, Academy Award-winning 1991 smash – IGN's pick for the top animated movie of all time – has been somewhat oddly left out of much in the way of notable theme park representation up until now, but that changes big time with New Fantasyland.

There are actual several different elements pulled from Beauty and the Beast, all in a straight path as you walk through New Fantasyland. Enchanted Tales with Belle is located inside a recreation of Belle’s father’s cottage as seen in the film. This experience is about meeting and interacting with a costumed Belle, but in a far more elaborate manner than simply waiting in line for a picture. Instead, members of the audience are picked to help Belle recreate the story of the movie in what is a very funny, delightful, and yes, very sweet way to have guests interact with an iconic Disney character. Both the kids and adults chosen during the show I attended (including my wife!) had a terrific time, as did those of us watching.

Belle, inside the "Enchanted Tales" attraction.

There is also a town square area, highlighted by a fountain featuring a statue of Gaston. Gaston’s Tavern is modeled after the tavern in Beauty and the Beast where Gaston sings his big theme song, and features takeout food and beverage, while the merchandise story next door looks like Belle’s beloved book store. But the area in this sort of Beauty and the Beast mini-land within New Fantasyland that stands out the most is the Be Our Guest restaurant.

Inside Gaston&#Array;s Tavern.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ Vice President Food & Beverage and Merchandise Operations Integration (now that's a title!) Maribeth Bisienere describes Be Our Guest as “a restaurant that’s also an attraction,” which is appropriate. The restaurant is located inside a recreation of the Beast’s castle, and it is truly stunning for anyone who is a fan of Beauty and the Beast. The famous ballroom from the film (you know the one – where they danced!) is the main dining hall, with two smaller rooms to the side. One has walls covered with paintings of the Beauty and the Beast characters, while the other far more darkly lit room is all about the Beast’s angst – from the portrait of himself as a human he’s clawed apart to the rose counting down the moments until his curse can’t be reversed. Suffice to say, there is a lot to take in visually here, and anyone who eats at Be Our Guest will want to spend several minutes walking around to look at all the details, including the falling snow outside the back “window” of the ballroom. Oh, and the food is very good – especially the braised pork.

The Beast&#Array;s ballroom inside Be Our Guest.

During the day, Be Our Guest has a unique service device. Patrons are given a mechanical “rose” that they use in conjunction with touch screen displays to place their order. They take a seat and the rose itself sends a signal to the staff telling them which table you’re located at in order for your food to be brought right to you.

At night, Be Our Guest turns into a full service restaurant – one which also stands out as the first location anywhere in the Magic Kingdom to serve alcohol. This was something Bisienere said wasn’t decided upon lightly, as she remarked, “We would never just add alcohol to any concept in the Magic Kingdom.” In this case though, they’d conducted a lot of guest research and felt, “It made sense because it was a very French inspired location and you can’t go somewhere in France without being able to order that glass of wine or that beer.”

The entry way to Be Our Guest.

I asked the Creative Director of New Fantasyland, Chris Beatty, how they decided to focus so much space on Beauty and the Beast and he told me that from the start, “We definitely knew the restaurant was going to be the anchor.” And while other experiences with other princesses were considered for what became Enchanted Tales with Belle, “How could you not have that little cottage nestled up in the shadow of the castle?” On top of that, Beatty said, “The Belle experience we thought had the longest range. It had characters that everyone knows and loves.” He added, “We wanted to reinvent the meet and greet experience, and that gave us the best opportunity to do that.” Other tavern possibilities were also explored, such as the one from Tangled, but Beatty admitted, “I always like to design in threes,” and that it just made sense to him to continue the Beauty and the Beast theme because, “I like the idea of not doing so many little designs, but maybe doing it a little bit bigger, with broader brushstrokes of content.”

Continue to Page 2 to read more about New Fantasyland, including The Little Mermaid and a novel new way to wait for Dumbo.